Soap dispenser



0a. 23, 1945. SCAR Y v 2,387,359

' SOAP DISPENSER Filed fiov. 12,1945

- INVENTOR. 'EARL J SCARRY ATTO/P/VEY Patented oer. 23.1945

Application November 12, 1943, Serial No. 510.057

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a surgeon's soap dis penser and has for its primary object the provision of a device of this character in which all manually operated devices such as foot treadles, arm levers, etc., will be eliminated and in which the hands of the surgeon will not contact anything.

Other objects are: to so construct the device that the entire operation will be controlled by the interruption of a beam of light so that the only contact made by the surgeon's hands will be with the light beam thus insuring sterile operation; to provide positive leak-proof means for dispensing a measured amount of soap; and to providemeans for collecting and removing all waste soap to prevent its. re-use and to maintain a clean sanitary appearance.

,Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efficiency.

. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention reference is had to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing? Fig. 1 is an end view of the improved surgeon's soap dispenser;

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof;

Fig. 3 illustrates the interior mechanism as it would appear with the front of the cabinet removed;

Fig. .4 is a cross section therethrcugh taken on the line 4-4, Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view illustrating the type of pump preferably-employed in the device. l

The improved surgeon's soap dispenser is mounted in a cabinet H! which may be arranged forwall or pedestal mounting as desired. The

cabinet i0 is provided with a hinged front II which is mounted on a suitable horizontal hinge l2 and which can be secured closed by means of 'a hasp 13, or in any other desired manner. The

front II is provided with a suitable window opening I 4 through which the user's hands are inserted. The window opening is preferably prothereof within the housing. The photoelectric equipment, per se, forms no part of the present invention. These elements are available upon the open market. This invention contemplates the combination of these elements with the remainder of the device to produce an automatic soap dispenser. A light beam is projected from the housing i'i into the cell box IE across the window i4 as indicated at A.

A liquid soap tanlr I3 is mounted in the housing below the window and provided with a suitable filler cap 20. The soap feeds through anintake conduit 2!, provided with a return check valve 26, to a T fitting 22 on a diaphragm pump housing 23. The pump housing contains an imperforate, flexible diaphragm 24 which is flexed in the housing by means of a pump rod 215 which extends from the diaphragm 24 in the side opposite to the T fitting 22 and projects downwardly from the pump housing 23.

The pump rod is actuate by means of a pump lever 27 which is pivoted at one extremity as shown at 28 and which extends to a position beheath the pump rod at its other extremity. The

'" lever 21 is in turn actuated through the medium of a solenoid 29 which is arranged to magnetically attract an armature plunger 30. The plunger 30 is connected to the lever 21 through a suitable connecting link 3i. A compression spring 32 constantly urges the pump rod outwardly.

Thus it can be seen that when the solenoid 29 is energized, the plunger 30 will be attracted and it will, through the medium of the link 3! and i the lever 21, causethe diaphragm 24 to be forced upwardly. When the solenoid is de-energized gravity, with the. assistance of the spring 32, will return the mechanism to its former position. The solenoid' 29 is connected in the controlled circuit of the photoelectric cell circuit, as is usual in photoelectric control practice, so that each time the light beam A is interrupted the solenoid will be energized.

Upward movement of the diaphragm forces the liquid soap from the pump housing past a second check-valve 33 into a riser tube 34 which terminates in a downwardly turned nozzle 35 positioned directly over the light beam A at the middle of the window l4. The check valve 26 prevents the pump from forcing the soap back to the tank l9 and the check valve 33 prevents its from returning from the riser tube 34.

Excess soap is caught in a receiving how] 36 and flows through a drain tube 31 to a used soap receiver 38 from which it may be drained at intervals through a drain nipple 39. The amount of soap delivered by the operation of the pump can be regulated and pre-set by means of a stop screw 40 which limits the length of the return stroke of the pump rod 25.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claim, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

A surgeon's soap dispenser comprising a cab- "inet having front and back walls, there being a window in the front wall; means for hingedly mounting the front wall; a soap reservoir in said link to transmit operative movement through said lever to said pump; and means for energizing said solenoid in consequenceof the insertion of the hands of a user through said window.

EARL J. SCARRY. 

